International Students in U.S. STEM Jobs Surge 54% in 2024, Boundless Finds

(U.S.) The number of international students working in STEM roles across the United States surged in 2024, rising 54% year over year, according to a new Boundless report released Aug. 21, 2025. The Boundless report says 95,384 international students obtained STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment authorization in 2024, out of 194,554 total OPT approvals that year. It is the fourth straight year of growth in STEM OPT participation, a trend tied to urgent hiring needs in artificial intelligence, data science, and engineering.

International enrollment also grew. U.S. colleges and universities hosted 1.58 million international students in 2024, up 5.3% from 2023. Their economic footprint remained large: international students contributed $43.8 billion to the 🇺🇸 economy in 2023–2024, supporting 378,175 jobs, according to the same Boundless report.

Nearly half of all students are clustered in five states, led by California with 237,763 students (14.6%), followed by New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida.

Origins and workforce share

• More than 70% of these students come from Asia.
• India sent 422,335 students and China sent 329,541, together accounting for 47.5% of all SEVIS records.
• Foreign-born professionals now hold a central place in the labor market:
  • They make up 19% of all STEM workers.
  • They are 43% of doctorate-level scientists and engineers (2024, National Science Board).
• About 73% of international STEM PhD recipients stay in the country after graduation.

Labor market demand and projections

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 11% increase in STEM jobs by 2029, adding more than 500,000 positions.
• Analysts have warned of a widening shortfall, with a gap of 3.5 million open STEM roles predicted by 2025.
• The pipeline of graduates trained in U.S. programs—and able to work under OPT—has become a key way employers meet that demand.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the resurgence of STEM OPT reflects employer needs more than campus trends. Employers in fast-moving fields want candidates who can start quickly after graduation, and OPT is the main bridge that makes that possible. With STEM OPT extensions allowing longer work periods, companies use this path to train and retain early-career talent before deciding on longer-term visa strategies.

Policy context and workforce impact

Policy changes over the past decade continue to shape the student-to-worker pipeline.

• The Trump administration’s legacy of visa cancellations, social media vetting, and enforcement actions at universities raised hurdles for international students.
• Some rules have eased since, but backlogs and strict visa caps still push many graduates to choose between leaving the U.S. or pausing careers.
• The Biden administration and Congress have discussed ideas to improve STEM visa policy—such as expanding STEM OPT duration and raising H-1B caps—but as of August 2025, no major bill had passed.

Advocacy groups argue the data is plain: keeping more qualified graduates in the country supports growth and innovation.

“International students are fueling our economy for the next generation,” — Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless Immigration.

The National Science Board underscores the heavy role foreign-born researchers play in advanced science and engineering. Think tanks like CSIS stress that long-term leadership in technology depends on attracting and retaining top STEM talent. More than half of STEM doctoral degree holders in defense-related industries are foreign-born, showing how student pathways feed directly into sensitive, high-skill sectors.

Employer practices and local impacts

Employers are hiring accordingly. International students in STEM fields increasingly land jobs at major U.S. companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

• About 62% work in computing, IT, engineering, or manufacturing.
• Research finds hiring international STEM graduates does not push wages down; employers are required to pay prevailing wages.
• Many graduates who stay also rent or buy homes, deepening ties to local communities and tax bases.

Voices from the field:
– Xiao Wang (Boundless Immigration) warns that pushing students away would harm American growth.
– Ben Waxman (Intead) highlights that these graduates bolster U.S. innovation and rejects the claim that they undercut pay.
– Zhuo Chen, a STEM student at International College Beijing, points to strong growth in fields like AI despite ongoing policy challenges.

Practical implications and next steps

For students, OPT remains the most direct way to gain U.S. work experience after graduation. The STEM OPT extension offers added time in roles tied to their degrees, which is crucial when companies plan multi-year projects.

• Official federal resource for program details: DHS’s Study in the States page on OPT for F-1 students — https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/f-1-student/f-1-opt-optional-practical-training.
• Key student/employer concerns:
  • Backlogs and caps can derail long-term hiring plans.
  • When graduates exhaust training time with no clear path forward, teams lose skills and momentum.
  • The problem is more acute in high-demand fields where project timelines and security reviews require continuity.

Industry groups and universities continue to press for reforms that create smoother steps from student status to skilled work visas and, for many, permanent residence.

Trends, competition, and geographic differences

• The 2024 surge marks the fourth straight year of growth in STEM OPT participation and coincides with an expanding labor market for technical roles.
• Other countries are competing for the same talent pool with faster pathways, including clear post-study work rights and direct routes to permanent status.
• If the U.S. response stalls, the pull from abroad will grow.

Geographic concentration matters:
– Almost half of international students are in California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida.
– Policy choices in these states—support for research hubs and partnerships with universities—can shape local hiring and retention.
– Employers in second-tier markets feel the shortfall sooner when they cannot match big-city salaries and relocation support.

Conclusion and human impact

For now, students and employers are working within the rules as they stand:

1. Schools advise on application timing.
2. Companies plan around training windows and prevailing wage rules.
3. Advocacy groups—from Boundless Immigration to the American Association of Universities—press for change.

The data signals steady demand in STEM but also the risk of losing ground if visa pathways remain clogged.

The headline number—95,384 international students on STEM OPT in 2024—captures the moment. Beneath it are individual stories: a robotics graduate joining an auto supplier in Michigan, a data scientist coding risk models for a Boston hospital, a chip-design engineer starting at a fab in Texas. Each relies on a predictable path from campus to workplace.

Whether policymakers under President Biden (and earlier, President Trump) deliver a system that supports those paths will shape how well the 🇺🇸 meets its next wave of science and technology needs.